


A desperate need of a numismatist

by whopooh



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Flashfic challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 16:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14168778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whopooh/pseuds/whopooh
Summary: Phryne is in desperate need of a numismatist. Who’s she gonna call?





	A desperate need of a numismatist

**Author's Note:**

> This is a flashfic for the flashfic challenge, and it took exactly two hours to write. There was no time for a beta, so I apologise for any errors or ugly phrasings.
> 
> The prompt words are: package, numismatist, sniff.

When Jack knocked on the door to Wardlow, it was with a slight trepidation. There was something in Phryne’s voice when she had telephoned that made him suspect there was really nothing to be alarmed about, but Miss Fisher telling him she needed him urgently was still giving him the shivers. The times she had been in danger before his eyes were more than he wished to remember.

“Please Jack, can you come over? It’s urgent!” Phryne had said.

Now he was here—his shift just finished and the afternoon turning into evening—performing his best policeman knock on her door.

“Inspector, please, come in,” Mr Butler said as he opened the door for him.

Quickly relieved from coat and hat, Jack entered the parlour. His brain had conjured up many possible scenarios of what would meet him as he drove over, but none of them had been close to this. 

Phryne was sitting in a chair, dressed in a cream white ensemble and deeply engrossed in an enormous volume of some kind, several other books lying on the table and on the floor around her. On the table he could spot a few coins, too large to be in use now. 

She looked up from her book.

“Jack, thank god!” she exclaimed and broke out into a smile.

“Miss Fisher,” Jack replied, looking around the room ostensibly. “Where is the imminent danger you’re in?”

“I didn’t say danger, I said you were urgently needed,” Phryne replied with a leisurely shrug. “I’m in desperate need of a numismatist.”

Jack quirked his eyebrow. He had heard that line before from those very lips; it took him a second to place it to their phone call before he had joined her in Queenscliff. That had been a wonderful case. He tried to feel annoyed at her for riling him up, but he could only secretly be happy she’d made him come over. He wouldn’t let her see that, though.

“And I’m the only one you know?” he said dryly.

“Of course not, Jack,” Phryne said. “I have an extensive circle of acquaintances. But you’re the one I’d rather ask.”

She met his gaze as she said it, and he tilted his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. The responding smile from her made him feel something stir in his guts. 

“What do you want me to do, Miss Fisher?” His voice was slightly huskier than the occasion warranted.

She gazed at him, her eyes flicking down to his lips, before she shook her head slightly, as if to break a spell between them.

“Look at these, Jack,” she said, pointing to the coins on her table. “Aunt Prudence found them in a package hidden in one of her old chests. She has several of those filled with heirlooms. We have no idea if they’re valuable, or even genuine.”

Jack sat down opposite her and picked up the coins to scrutinize them. He was quite sure they were authentic, and probably valuable, but he joined Phryne in searching through the large catalogues to make sure. Although he was as thorough as possible, it still went rather quickly. Not more than half an hour after he arrived they had identified the coins, finding them to be valuable indeed, and he’d only assisted her properly once.

He wouldn’t tell a single soul, but he was disappointed it hadn’t been more difficult. He would have preferred to sit in Phryne’s parlour and dig into large volumes for hours, stealing a glance of her now and then, thinking how beautiful she was when she was fully concentrated on a puzzle. But there was nothing for it, they were done. He sighed and was just about to rise when she interrupted him.

“You don’t have to go already, do you, Jack?” she said. “Your gallant riding to my rescue needs a proper reward. Mr Butler’s been preparing a steak for hours.”

Jack looked at her, assessing the smile on her face.

“Did you actually need my help at all, Miss Fisher?” he asked.

“Of course I did, Jack! But I don’t see why I can’t keep enjoying your company even if we solved the puzzle.”

“Of course,” he said, and at that moment, Mr Butler appeared in the door.

“Dinner is ready, Miss.”

Phryne rose from her chair and held out her hand. 

“You’ll stay, won’t you, Jack?” Her voice wasn’t exactly pleading—he doubted Phryne Fisher’s voice ever was—but it wasn’t demanding, and her face was open and sincere.

Jack sniffed in the air as he rose too, catching the tempting scent of Mr Butler’s steak. 

“How could I ever say no to you, Miss Fisher,” he said and let his eyes seek out hers.

“That is an excellent sentiment, Jack,” she said, taking his arm to walk him to the dining room. She squeezed his arm. “And that is definitely a sentiment you should keep for after dinner too.”

He glanced at her as he took the seat next to her.

“I suppose that might be possible,” he said.

If he’d been affected by her before, that was nothing compared to his feelings as a smile of anticipation slowly took over her lips. She tilted her head and raised her glass for a toast, and when he mimicked her gesture, his insides tingled. 

After dinner, indeed.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [After Dinner](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14267001) by [whopooh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whopooh/pseuds/whopooh)




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